17 May 08 A5

Classic Remix & Morning Mix on Symphony 92.4FM (Sat & Sun, 8am to 12pm) For a healthy mix of cross-over music, movie soundtracks and the great classics, join us for Classic Remix every

Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 10am. From 10am to noon, get closure from Morning Mix.We play complete works by the great composers from different eras – from symphonies to concertos to chamber music.

For more information, visit www.symphony.sg.

Supported by various corporate sponsors and individual donors, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered under the Charities Order.

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA11 Empress Place, Victoria Concert Hall, Ground Floor, Singapore 179558

Company registration no.: 197801125M

Phone +65 6338 1230 (main) Fax +65 6336 6382 (main)E-mail [email protected] Website www.sso.org.sg

Sat, 17 May 08Esplanade Concert HallPERFORMING HOME OF THE SSO

MASTERFULMENDELSSOHN

A STANDING OVATION TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

Partners

GKG InvestmentHoldInGs Pte ltd

PATRON SPONSORS

All Rights Reserved, National Library Board, Singapore

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Sat, 17 May 08

Ari Rasilainen conductorDaniel Hope violin

MASTERFULMENDELSSOHN

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SERGEI PROKOFIEVSymphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ‘Classical’ 15’00

FELIX MENDELSSOHNViolin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 26’00

Intermission 20’00

Daniel Hope will autograph CDs at the stall foyer

JEAN SIBELIUSSymphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 38’00

All timings indicated are approximate


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SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A premier Asian orchestra gaining recognition around the world,the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) aims to enrich thelocal cultural scene, serving as a bridge between the musicaltraditions of Asia and the West, and providing artistic inspiration,entertainment and education.

A full-time professional orchestra with 96 members, the SSO now makes itsperforming home at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and also performs regularly atthe Victoria Concert Hall and at other venues. Established in 1979, the SSOperforms over 50 symphonic programmes a year.

Its versatile repertoire spans the all-time favourites and orchestral masterpiecesto exciting cutting-edge premieres, with Asian and Singaporean musicians andcomposers featuring prominently in the concert season. The SSO has touredAmerica, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy,Japan, France, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.


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3Since Maestro Lan Shui assumed the position of Music Director in 1997, the SSOhas been distinguished by a high level of excellence and a rising internationalprofile. Choo Hoey, who was Music Director from 1979 to 1996, is credited fordeveloping the SSO with his diverse programming.

Among the SSO’s recordings underBIS are a number of CDs whichhave earned international acclaim,including a Seascapes album andthe first-ever symphony cycle ofTcherepnin. Since its release in May2007, Seascapes, a compilation ofsea-themed music by Debussy, FrankBridge, Glazunov and Zhou Long,has garnered glowing reviews invarious publications including BBCMusic Magazine and AmericanRecord Guide. The SSO has alsorecorded the music of Chen Yi,

Bright Sheng and Richard Yardumian, collaborating with such great artists as GilShaham, Evelyn Glennie, Cho-Liang Lin, Noriko Ogawa, Sharon Bezaly, ClaudeDelangle, Christian Lindberg and Martin Fröst.

“Today it unquestionably ranks amongthe world’s best… A world-class

orchestra that can switch betweensuch radically divergent styles with

virtuosic ease.”

American Record GuideMarch/April 2007


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Symphony 92.4FM Ad


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ARI RASILAINENc o n d u c t o r

Ari Rasilainen, born in 1959, is in the top categoryof young successful Scandinavian conductors. Hestudied conducting at Jorma Panula’s conducting classat the Sibelius Academy and also under the lateArvid Jansons (conducting) and Aleksander Labko(violin) in Berlin.

In 1989, Rasilainen won second prize in theInternational Nicolai Malko Conducting Competitionin Copenhagen, and subsequently became a frequent guest conductor with theDanish orchestras. From 1985 to 1989, he was Chief Conductor of theLappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland), and thereafter Principal Guest Conductorof the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1994, Rasilainen was appointed Chief Conductor of the Norwegian RadioOrchestra, Oslo. Rasilainen also performed in the United States and in variouscountries in Europe, more recently with the BRTN Philharmonic Orchestra,Prague Symphony Orchestra, Opera North (Leeds), the Frankfurt, Leipzig andStuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestras and the Hanover Radio Philharmonic. In1994 he conducted Lohengrin, in 1998 The Magic Flute and in 2001 Tosca at theFinnish National Opera in Helsinki.

In May 2000, Rasilainen conducted the NDR-Radio-Philharmonic Hanover in theopening concert of the EXPO featuring José Carreras as soloist. In a live broadcastby ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) from the Schauspielhaus Berlin, heconducted the Berlin Radio Symphony in the annual concert of the ‘ECHO-KLASSIK’ award on 22 October 2000.

Ari Rasilainen’s recordings with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra appear exclusivelyon the Finlandia Records label. Further contracts include the recording of thecomplete Symphonies by Kurt Atterberg for the CPO label. In mid 2002, he wasappointed the new GMD of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany). Starting on 1 January 2002, he took over the artistic directorship,and from the beginning of the 2002/2003 concert season, serves as the orchestra’sPrincipal Chief Conductor. From August 2002 to December 2005, Ari Rasilainenwas Principal Guest Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra in Denmark.

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DANIEL HOPEv i o l i n

Daniel Hope is renowned the world over for hismusical vitality and creativity and has won importantrecord prizes for classical music in the Western musicscene. He has toured and performed in major musiccentres and festivals, appearing regularly with majororchestras and renowned conductors worldwide.Hope’s dedication to 20th century and contemporarymusic is highlighted through his close contacts withseveral eminent composers.Daniel Hope devotes a por tion of his time toconceptual projects, such as his award-winning project East Meets West whichfeatures works for violin composed by Ravi Shankar. A close association withthe actor Klaus Maria Brandauer has also led to a series of highly successful projectssuch as In Search For Freedom (War and Pieces) and Mozart Unplugged!. Otherperformances combining words and music created by Hope include An AudienceWith Beethoven with Mia Farrow, Forbidden Not Forgotten with chamber musicand poetry from the Theresienstadt Ghetto, and Music To Die For!, a play writtenby Christopher Hope, featuring music performed by Hope and jazz pianist UriCaine, directed by Jonathan Moore.

In 2007 Daniel Hope signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon,with whom he records a variety of projects like the Mendelssohn Violin Concertowith the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and a Theresienstadt project with AnneSofie von Otter and Christian Gerhaher. From 2004 to 2006 Hope made atotal of eight award-winning recordings for Warner Classics: the Berg ViolinConcerto and Britten Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and PaulWatkins, John Fould’s Apotheosis – in memoriam Joseph Joachim with the City ofBirmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo, Mozart’s Sonata for Violinand Piano K.379 and Violin and Piano Concerto K.56 (315f) with Sebastian Knauer,Camerata Salzburg and Sir Roger Norrington, East Meets West with GauravMazumdar and friends, Shostakovich’s Concertos No. 1 and 2 with BBC SymphonyOrchestra and Maxim Shostakovich, and Bach’s Violin Concertos with the ChamberOrchestra of Europe.


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7Daniel Hope was a student of the Russian pedagogue, Zakhar Bron and graduatedfrom the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the age of ten he appeared onBritish television with double bass player Gary Karr. Yehudi Menuhin was oneof his mentors with whom he performed over sixty concerts together, includingLord Menuhin’s final concert on 7 March 1999 in Düsseldorf, where Hopeperformed the Schnittke Violin Concerto.


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SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MUSIC DIRECTOR Lan ShuiRESIDENT CONDUCTOR / MUSIC DIRECTOR ofSINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHORUS Lim Yau

CONDUCTOR EMERITUS Choo Hoey

PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR Okko Kamu

FIRST VIOLINLEADERAlexander Souptel

CO-LEADERLynnette Seah

ASSISTANTLEADERKong Zhao Hui†

FIXED CHAIRChan Yoong Han

Chen Da Wei†Duan Yu LingFoo Say MingGu Wen LiJin LiCindy LeeLim Shue ChurnSeow Jin ChongSui Jing JingKaren TanWilliam TanWei Zhe

SECOND VIOLINPRINCIPALZhang Zhen Shan

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALMichael Loh

FIXED CHAIRHai-Won Kwok

Nikolai Koval†Priscilla NeoAndrea Oey*†

Margit SaurShao Tao TaoJoshua Tan Kang Ming**Qiang Xiaoxiao*Wu Man Yun†

Xu Jue Yi†Yeo Teow MengYin Shu Zhan†

Zhang Si Jing

VIOLAPRINCIPALZhang Manchin

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALGuan Qi

FIXED CHAIRLuo Biao

Chen GeJiri HegerMarietta KuJiang Han Song*Gu Bing Jie*Liu Hao YuShui BingTan Wee Hsin**Tong Yi PingYang Shi Li

CELLOPRINCIPALNella Hunkins

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALYu Jing

Chan Wei Shing†

Ding Xiao FengGuo Hao†

Li ChengSong Woon TengWang YanZhao Yu ErZhou Mi*

DOUBLE BASSPRINCIPALGuennadi Mouzyka

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALYang Zheng Yi

FIXED CHAIRKaren Yeo

Olga AlexandrovaYuri Lomeiko*Ma Li MingJacek MiruckiWang Xu

FLUTEPRINCIPALJin Ta

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALEvgueni Brokmiller

Roberto AlvarezLee Kee Hoi

PICCOLOASSISTANTPRINCIPALRoberto Alvarez

OBOEPRINCIPALRachel Walker

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALPan Yun

Carolyn SondereggerElaine Yeo

COR ANGLAISASSOCIATEPRINCIPALElaine Yeo

CLARINETPRINCIPALMa Yue

Gabor Varga*

Liu YokoTang Xiao Ping

BASS CLARINETASSISTANTPRINCIPALTang Xiao Ping

BASSOONPRINCIPALZhang Jin Min

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALLiu Chang

Gao Quan*Zhao Ying Xue

CONTRABASSOONASSISTANTPRINCIPALZhao Ying Xue

HORNPRINCIPALHan Chang Chou

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALGao JianJamie HerschMarc Antoine Robillard

Hoang Van Hoc**Gerd Seifert*Wang Min

TRUMPETPRINCIPALLaurence Gargan

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALDavid Smith

Ikebe JunYap Thien Soo

TROMBONEPRINCIPALAllen Meek

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALFredi Sonderegger

Benjamin Marks*

BASS TROMBONEASSISTANTPRINCIPALShannon Pittaway

TUBAPRINCIPALJason Doherty*

TIMPANIPRINCIPALJonathan Fox

Grzegorz Markiewicz

PERCUSSIONPRINCIPALJonathan Fox

ASSOCIATEPRINCIPALMark Suter

Mark De SouzaLim Meng KehGrzegorz Markiewicz

HARPPRINCIPALGulnara Mashurova

Musicians (listed alphabetically by family name)rotate their seats on a per programme basis

* Musician(s) on temporary contract** SSO Musician on leave† With deep appreciation to Mr & Mrs Rin Kei

Mei for their generous loan of string instrumentsfrom the Rin Collection


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MUSICIANS’ CHAIR

To continue to be one of the most outstanding orchestras in the region, theSingapore Symphony Orchestra needs to recruit and maintain its pool of talentedmusicians. We would like to thank the following corporation for supporting ourMusicians’ Chair Programme:

Allow your corporation to play an active role in the life of the Orchestra by supporting the CorporateSeat Scheme.

For more details, please contact the Development & Sponsorship Team at 68370998 [email protected].

CORPORATE SEATS

$20,000 and aboveJapanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, SingaporePetrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Pte) Ltd

$10,000 and aboveBDHong Leong FoundationLippo LimitedPrima Limited

SINGAPORE PETROLEUMCOMPANY LIMITED

Musician’s Seat


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DONATIONS RECEIVED FROMAPR 2007 – MAR 2008($1,000 AND ABOVE)

$200,000 and aboveSingapore Totalisator BoardCIMB-GK Securities Pte LtdSiemens Pte LtdLee Foundation, SingaporeConrad Centennial

SingaporeHong Leong FoundationChartered Asset

Management Pte LtdAnonymous

$100,000 and aboveSingapore Petroleum

Company LimitedNatSteel LtdPhilips Electronics Singapore

Pte LtdAnonymousTan Sri Wan Azmi Hamzah

$50,000 and aboveSMRT Corporation LtdFar East OrganizationSwarovski Singapore Trading

Pte LtdLippo LimitedAberdeen Asset

Management Asia LtdAR Capital Pte LtdChristopher HoDorothy ChanNg San TiongOlivia Lum Ooi LinTan Chin Tuan FoundationAnonymous

$20,000 and aboveErnst & YoungInterlocal Exim Pte LtdAnonymousSingapore Airlines Ltd

Citibank N.A.Singapore Institute of

ManagementWearne Brothers Services

Pte LtdF J Benjamin (Singapore)

Pte LtdAllan YapAsia Pacific Breweries

FoundationChan Wing ChengJCCI Singapore Foundation

LtdPetrochemical Corporation

of Singapore Pte LtdSincere Watch LtdUnico Trading Pte LtdYong Pung How

$10,000 and aboveBNP ParibasDaimlerChrysler South East

Asia Pte LtdWing Tai Holdings LtdLim Bee TinBecton Dickinson and

CompanyBoeing International

CorporationComposers and Authors

Society of Singapore LtdHong Leong Holdings LtdJulie Lo Lai WanAnonymousPrima LimitedSTT Communications LtdTan Kong Piat (Pte) LtdUnited Overseas Bank Ltd

$5,000 and aboveOversea-Chinese Banking

Corporation Ltd

Bengawan Solo Pte LtdOng Eng KeangWee Joo YeowAllen & Gledhill LLPBakri Trading Co (Asia)

Pte LtdBernard Cheong Wei KokCapitaland Retail

Management Pte LtdCheng Kim Loke FoundationChiu Teng Enterprises

Pte LtdChua Siok LinDystar Singapore Pte LtdEmirates National Oil

Company (S) Pte LtdGrand Hyatt SingaporeGreat Malaysia Textile

Investments Pte LtdHo Bee Developments

Pte LtdKPMGLarry Jewelry (S) Pte LtdLee Kim Tah Holdings

LimitedLinda Irawaty LimOng & Ong Pte LtdPACC Ship Managers Pte LtdRaiffeisen Zentralbank

Oesterreich AGSingapore Pools (Pte) LtdSng Teck KongUnicorn International

Pte LtdWong Ai Ai Nee Tang

$1,000 and aboveLee Kim PooAviation & Electronics

Support Pte LtdChang Ming SingChang Ming Yu


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11Sky Pilates Pte LtdLeon Lui Yuen LeungChang Tou ChoongAdeline Mah Li TingCaroline Low Bee LengChang Tou LiangChoo Eng ChuanDonna MeyerLee Hock ChinLei Garden Restaurant

Pte LtdNew Funnels (S) Pte LtdPhan Swee KimQAF LimitedRobert Dale WhiteheadRobert Khan & Co Pte LtdSimon Yeo Seng ChongTan Ser KiatTong Moi EngTony Chew Leong CheeUnited Caoutchouc Trading

Co Pte LtdDavid Philbrick ConnerT H Cher MatthiasAlexander SieberChan Wai LeongGul B ChotraniRonald P StrideAndreas RuschkowskiAndrey BerzinsAnnie YapBelinda Koh Yuh LingCei Contract Manufacturing

LimitedCemex Asia Pte LtdChang Ming ChunChang Ming WenCharles P CousinsChiang Yu LanChristopher Ho Siow SoongChristopher J FussnerClarinda Tjia-Dharmadi

Club 392 Pte LtdComfortDelGro

Corporation LimitedDing Yew TeikEdmund N S TieEna SuEric Tan Tzy ShiunEvelyn Chua Kin NeoFrances Cheang Chin NeoFrank MesserGan Kok KoonGeir EikGerrit Klaus Gunther

KrugerGoh Chiu GakGretchen LiuHo Soo FooHour Glass LtdInternational Answering

Service Pte LtdJean Marie FoulleyJuergen KrembKang Tze YongKaren FawcettLee Kuan YewLeong Keng HongLGT Bank in Liechtenstein

(Singapore) LtdLim Kam MingLloyd Holdings Pte LtdLoh Pong TuanMark SeielstadMary RajkumarMavis Lim Geck ChinMichael Wong PakshongNancy Evans MillerNicholas A RoosOne Seven Pte LtdPauline Ang Hooi YeongPontiac Land Pte LtdRaffles Medical Group LtdRobert Sinclair

Robin Ann RheaumeRoyal Norwegian EmbassyRyan Tham Ming LoongSam SchwartzSeah Quee ChooShi Ka YeeShih Chih LungSun Tony HoTan Hsiao WeiTan Tatt SiThean Lip PingThomas LukensTommy KohVeronica Toh Chan HinVertu Pte LtdWee Kim ChooWillem Mark NabarroWilli HessWilliam H HernstadtWilliam & Lois LydensWong Choon Wah


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Sat24 May 08

Gala – Gennady Rozhdestvensky:Daydreams in G minorGennady Rozhdestvensky conductorVictoria Postnikova piano

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13‘Winter Daydreams’

Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43Schnittke The Dead Souls Register: Suite from the

incidental music (orch. G. Rozhdestvensky)

Husband and wife team Gennady Rozhdestvensky and VictoriaPostnikova join forces in presenting a Russian spectacular, featuringRachmaninov’s evergreen Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for pianoand orchestra – a series of 24 variations on the last of Paganini’sCaprices for solo violin. Experience winter in Russia with Tchaikovsky’sSymphony No. 1, nicknamed “Winter Daydreams”, the final movementbringing to mind a winter carnival with sunshine sparkling on thesnow.

Philips Gala – Leila Josefowicz:The Beauty of Beethoven

Fri30 May 08

Eri Klas conductorLeila Josefowicz violin

Beethoven The Creatures of Prometheus: OvertureBeethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Leila Josefowicz is as famous for being the face of Chanel's Allureperfume as for being a violin virtuoso. In this all-Beethovenprogramme, she takes on the sunny and effervescent Violin Concerto,a work which Beethoven wrote for a violinist friend’s benefit concert.And though the Symphony No. 7 was written when Beethoven’sdeafness was far advanced, it is so full of exuberant, dance-likethemes that early audiences were confused by the work’s sheerhigh spirits.


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Lan Shuimusic director

U P C O M I N GE V E N T S

All concerts at 7.30 pm, Esplanade Concert Hall unless otherwise stated

AN EXCITING NEW SSO 08/09 SEASON

Tickets go on sale for the SSO’s 08/09 Season from May 22, with a 20% early birddiscount till Jun 4. Book your tickets from SISTIC now!

Pick up a copy of our new season brochure at the stalls foyer or visit our websitewww.sso.org.sg for more details.

Fri, 27 Jun 08

CIMB-SSO Gala Concert:Emanuel Ax Plays Chopin

Fri, 11 Jul 08

President’s YoungPerformers Concert

Thu, 17 Jul 08

Prize Premieres:Sharon Bezaly


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SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)

Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ‘Classical’ 15’00

Allegro con brioLarghettoGavotte (Non troppo allegro)Finale (Molto vivace)

As a student at the St PetersburgConservatoire, Prokofiev took vicariouspleasure in shocking his tutors byflaunting his originality in a series ofacidic, harsh and dissonant compositions.Indeed, one of his tutors, the eminentcomposer Glazunov, ostentatiouslywalked out of a performance ofProkofiev’s Scythian Suite. However, itwas Glazunov’s assertion that Prokofievwas incapable of writing “real music” orto compose according to the rules that directly led to the creation of his firstand most enduring masterpiece, the First Symphony.

Prompted by Glazunov’s comments, Prokofiev deliberately set out to write asymphony strictly along the lines of one of Haydn’s, using the same size orchestra,with movements of the same length, using the same keys and adhering to thesame rigid structure. Prokofiev himself called it his “Classical Symphony” because,as he wrote, “It seemed to me that had Haydn lived to our day he would haveretained his own style while accepting something of the new at the same time.This was the kind of Symphony I wanted to write.”

As an only son Prokofiev was excused from military service during the FirstWorld War. He had settled in a small village not far from St Petersburg by 1917and managed to avoid the Revolutionary ferment into which all of Russia wasplunged by the Bolsheviks in February that year. So 1916 and 1917 wereparticularly peaceful years for Prokofiev and gave him time to think, meditateand go for long walks in the country. “I composed my “Classical” Symphony whilewalking through the fields,” he wrote, and there is certainly more than a breathof fresh air blowing through this delightful music. One American critic describedit as an “orgy of discordant sounds” but another gave a much more affectionate

Born Sontsovka, Ukraine 23 April1891; died Moscow 5 March 1953.

A child prodigy as pianist andcomposer, but obliged to spendthe years 1918-1933 in exilefollowing the Bolshevik Revolution.

Output includes operas, balletscores, piano and chamber works,concertos and seven symphonies.


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Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Neeme JärviChandos CHAN 8931/4

Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Claudio AbbadoDG 429-396-2

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Yoel LeviTelarc CD 80289

USSR State Symphony Orchestra/Yevgeny SvetlanovBBC BBCL4345-2

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description: “The Classical Symphony is the picture of a modern man saunteringthrough old-world streets where a new generation lives behind ornamentalhouse fronts. There are the sounds of the modern time coming dimly from thehighways somewhere in the neighbourhood, but still the puttos over the doorwaysare smiling at a changed world and the scent of a capricious age hangs over thenarrow winding lanes.”

The Symphony’s premiere was given on 8 April 1918 in the newly-renamed cityof Petrograd (formerly, and again presently, St Petersburg).

Marc Rochester


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FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 26’00

Allegro molto appassionatoAndanteAllegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

Mendelssohn’s close association withthe violin went back to the age of tenwhen he began lessons on theinstrument. By then he had alreadyimpressed Berlin’s cultural elite with hispiano playing, and whilst it was as apianist that he first made a name forhimself, he had such a natural ability asa violinist that he quickly establishedhimself as a first-rate violinist too.However, Mendelssohn’s true musicalgenius was as a composer and his firstcompositions appeared in 1820, whenhe was just 11 years old. Naturally enough the piano and violin featured prominentlyin these and within two years he had composed his first concertos – one eachfor violin and piano – while 1823 saw the composition of two double concertos,one for violin and piano and one for two pianos. Altogether he wrote a totalof eight concertos – three for piano, two for two pianos, two for violin and onefor violin and piano – but it is generally accepted that the Violin Concerto in Eminor composed in 1844 is the finest of them all.

1844 was a very busy year for Mendelssohn. For several months he had beenbuilding up the new academy of music in Leipzig while at the same time workingas conductor of the city’s Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was, however, living inBerlin where he was cathedral organist, choirmaster and co-conductor of theBerlin Symphony Concerts. As if such frequent commuting between two citiesalmost 150km apart was not enough, between May and July, when there wassomething of a respite from musical activity in Germany, Mendelssohn paid hiseighth visit to England where he conducted six concerts of his own music withthe Royal Philharmonic Society. Exhausted by all this musical activity, as well asfrom so much travelling, Mendelssohn took time off once back in Germany torecuperate in the countryside near Frankfurt. It was here on 16 September thathe wrote his last purely orchestral work, the Violin Concerto in E minor.

Born Hamburg 3 February 1809;died Leipzig 4 November 1847.

Prodigiously gifted child broughtup in a distinguished intellectual,artistic and banking family.

Composed concertos, f ivesymphonies, three major oratorios,numerous stage works and a greatdeal of orchestral, chamber,instrumental, vocal and religiousmusic.


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Daniel Hope/Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Thomas HengelbrockDG 477 6634

Hilary Hahn/Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Hugh WolffSony SK89921

Maxim Vengerov/Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Kurt MasurTeldec 4509-90875-2

Jascha Heifetz/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas BeechamEMI CDH5 65191-2

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The Concerto’s premiere was given in Leipzig on 13 March 1845 by the LeipzigGewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Niels Gade. Ferdinand David, the orchestra’sconcert-master and a close friend of Mendelssohn, was the soloist. From thevery start of the Concerto, as the solo violin soars gracefully above the subduedorchestra, the reasons for the work’s popularity are obvious. It is full of rich, lyricalmelodies, none more so than the exquisite theme of the second movement.The playful, buoyant finale is strongly reminiscent of the light, bubbly scherzomovements which characterise Mendelssohn’s youthful works. The inclusion ofthe cadenza in the very middle of the first movement as well as the linking ofthe first two movements so that they run without a break were innovationsintroduced by Mendelssohn, but otherwise this is a concerto firmly in the Romantictradition as perfected by Beethoven and Brahms, alongside whose violin concertosMendelssohn’s ranks in terms of popularity.

Marc Rochester


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Conrad Ad


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JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957)

Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 38’00

Andante, ma non troppo – Allegro EnergicoAndante (ma non troppo lento)Scherzo (Allegro)Finale (Quasi una Fantasia): Andante – Allegro molto

On 26 April 1899 a large audiencegathered in Helsinki to attend a concertin which the 33-year-old Sibeliusconducted a programme of his ownworks, the orchestral tone poem TheWood Nymph, a brief work for malevoice chorus and orchestra The Songof the Athenians , and the fir stperformance of the Symphony No.1.Sibelius was by that time well knownnot only as a composer but also as afigurehead in the Finnish Nationalistmovement, and what had attracted thecrowd was the prospect of hearing thefirst performance of The Song of theAthenians, billed as Sibelius’ response to Czar Nicholas II’s so-called “FebruaryManifesto” in which the autonomous rights enjoyed by Finland since 1809 wereseverely curtailed and an autocratic Governor-General, Nikolai Bobrikov, appointedto ensure Finland toed the Russian line. The Helsinki audience, despite theirobvious enthusiasm for the Symphony – they applauded each individual movement– were largely unaware of the significance of the event.

Not only were they present at the last premiere of a major symphony to takeplace during the 19th century – a century which had begun with the firstperformance of Beethoven’s First Symphony – but they were witnessing the birthof a great symphonic career. Sibelius was to compose seven symphonies overthe course of the next 25 years in which he made, in the words of onecommentator, “his most unique contribution to music and produced one of themost significant bodies of symphonic literature after Beethoven”.

Born 8 December 1865Hämmeenlinna, Finland; died 20September 1957 Järvenpää.

After a brief period spent overseasreturned to Finland and becameindelibly associated with themus ica l vo ice o f F inn ishnationalism.

Early successes were with overtlypatriotic works, but subsequentimportance lies in his work as oneof the 20th century’s leadingsymphonists.

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It was a performance of another great 19th century symphony, Berlioz’s SymphonieFantastique, which he had heard in Berlin during February 1898, that inspiredSibelius to start work on his first symphony. Both in Berlin and back in Helsinki,Sibelius found the temptation of various bars and hostelries too much of adistraction to his composing. So he moved in with, first, his mother-in-law and,later, his brother and sister, in order to work on the Symphony. The birth of histhird child in November 1898 must also have provided a certain distraction, butthe Symphony was completed in March 1899. For all his anti-Russian politicalsentiments, as a symphonist Sibelius certainly began very much in the Russianmould and many have pointed to the strong influences of two Russian composers– Borodin and Tchaikovsky – in his First Symphony.

Indeed the first movement opens with a melancholic clarinet solo above gentlyrumbling timpani which bears a striking resemblance to a similar passage inBorodin’s First Symphony; linguistic experts have, however, argued that this melodyis actually inspired by the speech rhythms of the Finnish language. Be that as itmay, this not only makes for an intensely beautiful opening to the Symphony, butalso provides the basic melodic material of the entire work; most subsequentthemes are in some way or another derived from it, including the sparkling littletheme from the flutes with the glittering accompaniment of an icy harp whichseems to prove the frequently-made comment on Sibelius’ music that it “encapsulatesthe landscape of Finland”.

The second movement opens with a passage clearly inspired by Tchaikovsky’sPathétique Symphony which Sibelius had heard in Helsinki in 1897, while the thirdmovement is very obviously inspired not by a Russian composer, but by the greatAustrian symphonist Bruckner. The central Trio section has the unmistakeablestamp of Sibelius, but in the end the movement again reverts strongly to thestyle of Bruckner.

The fourth movement opens with a tragic statement of the opening clarinettheme played here by the violins. After this has been echoed more gently by thewoodwinds, the theme plays no further part in the Symphony. Instead, theremainder of the movement is given over to what one commentator has describedas “thrilling orchestral detail, sudden and vivid dynamic contrasts, impetuous anddeclamatory outbursts of rhetoric”.

Marc Rochester


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Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo VänskäBIS BIS-CD-861

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